Facts
[A.] and [B.], both German nationals and married since 2014, worked in Switzerland with interruptions during the period from 1983 to 2007. By decisions dated November 22, 2016, the Swiss Compensation Office (SAK) granted them old-age pensions under the AHV of CHF 613.- (husband) and CHF 172.- (wife) from November 1, 2016 onwards, which it confirmed by objection decisions dated January 4, 2017.
The joint appeal filed by [A.] and [B.] was dismissed by the Federal Administrative Court after consolidation of the proceedings and a second exchange of written submissions, insofar as it entered into the matter, by decision of November 2, 2017.
[A.] and [B.] have filed an appeal with the main legal claims that the entire AHV balances, including default interest, less the old-age pensions already received, be paid out to them; alternatively, the pensions be recalculated taking into account the Swiss and German insurance periods and paid out, including retroactive payment for the pensions that were previously underpaid.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismisses the appeal. It states that the claim for payout of the entire AHV balances, including default interest, must be rejected due to the lack of a legal basis. The appellants are based on the incorrect assumption that the "old-age provision capital" (paid AHV contributions) has been defined by the legislator as inviolable. However, this is contradicted by the fact that the pay-as-you-go system, rather than the capital coverage system, applies in the AHV, in which there is no personal old-age provision capital.
Furthermore, the lower instance correctly decided that the calculation of the old-age pensions without taking into account the insurance periods completed in Germany and possibly in other EU states is in conformity with the Agreement on the Free Movement…